


Dancing Follow Me

by TiffanyF



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-06
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2017-11-28 09:27:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/672853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiffanyF/pseuds/TiffanyF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yukimura is not happy to learn that his team lost to Seigaku in the Kantou regionals. He gets in touch with three men who will be able to help Rikkai train in one of the most unusual ways yet. Don't own, don't claim, don't know, no money made here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I debated posting this one as it does have real people in it (all my RPS is locked on my journal) but decided since there's no smut involving them, I'd go ahead and share it.

The tennis courts at Rikkai Dai Fuzoku echoed with the sound of balls hitting rackets and the occasional cry as a special technique was unleashed on the opponent. Watching over all of them was the stern gaze of the buchou, Yukimura Seiichi. He still wasn’t recovered enough from his illness and surgery to play, which made him cranky (or would if anyone was suicidal enough to accuse him of it) and watching his team on the courts only angered him further. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, tennis jacket draped regally over his shoulders, fluttering slightly in the wind, and narrowed his eyes as a ball went past Sanada to lodge in the fence behind him. 

That was all it took to push Yukimura over the edge. “Enough!” he yelled.

Seven boys froze in whatever position they had been in, Marui falling over, his bubble gum covering his face. Niou snickered. “What’s up, buchou?”

“Your forms are horrible!” Yukimura snapped. “No wonder we lost to Seigaku at Kantou. None of you seem to know what you’re doing.”

The doubles pairs figured quickly that pointing out they had won their matches would not be a good idea at that moment and bit back sighs. Marui focused of trying to get the gum off of his face as quietly as he could. None of them could wait until Yukimura was healthy enough to be back on the court with them. It wouldn’t make training any less intense, but he would be a little more focused on himself and his own training allowing them at least a chance at some down time. Unlike now when his blue eyes seemed to take in every single mistake they made. Including...

“Akaya, go wash your hands and scrub under your nails,” Yukimura said. “I don’t care to know what you’ve been doing, but I will not tolerate filth on our tennis courts.”

Everyone looked at Sanada, eyes silently begging him to step in and do something to calm Yukimura down. Sanada pulled on the brim of his hat and sighed.   
“Yukimura, don’t you think that’s a little too....”

“Too what, Sanada?” Yukimura asked turning the full weight of his glare on the fukubuchou. “I think the only thing obvious here is that you’ve been too lax in training while I was gone. It’s obvious that we’re going to have to work twice as hard to regain our crown and eliminate Seigaku in the process.”

As one the regulars put down their rackets and took off at a jog, starting the first of many laps they knew was coming. Yukimura nodded and pulled out his cell phone. He had an idea for training his team, and only needed one thing to put it into effect. He didn’t need to worry about his team not obeying him; they would do anything he said. Yukimura was back and he was going to make sure that his team captured their third national title or die trying.  
**************************

The regulars all collapsed on the grass after their 200th lap around the courts and lay there panting. “Is there any sign of Yukimura?” Marui asked weakly, fumbling for a new piece of gum; one that didn’t have dirt in it.

“I think he must be in the clubhouse,” Jackal said. He was even feeling a little winded. 

“Can’t you do anything, Genichiro?” Yanagi asked.

“He’s not suicidal,” Niou commented.

“Yukimura is just upset,” Sanada replied. “We just need to do whatever he says until he’s well enough to be back on the court and things will get better.”

“I won’t last that long,” Akaya muttered leaning against Yanagi. 

“None of us will,” Yagyuu said. He pushed Niou’s hand out of his lap. “If you have enough energy for that, Niou-kun, you should go run more laps.”

“I was just gonna lay here,” Niou smirked. “And let you do all the work.”

“Then you will have to wait until this evening when I’ve recovered a little more.”

“Everyone come here!”

The regulars groaned. It had probably been too much to hope that Yukimura had gone home or fallen asleep in the clubhouse while they were running. They pushed to their feet and stumbled back towards the clubhouse where their buchou was waiting for them, arms crossed over his chest again. “We will be going out tonight,” Yukimura said. “I expect everyone to be here at five so we have time to take the train down into Tokyo. We will eat on the train and I will be very disappointed in anyone who does not show up on time, dressed appropriately.”

They stared at him. No one was brave enough to ask the obvious question until Niou sighed. “How do you want us dressed, Yukimura?” he asked.

“For a concert,” Yukimura replied. “And no, Sanada, it is not classical music. You will need to wear jeans and one of the shirts I bought for you last year.”

Sanada choked. “Yukimura.”

“That is not open for negotiation, Sanada,” Yukimura smiled. “Get moving so you have time to change and get back here.”  
**************************

No one was surprised when Yukimura was the first one back at the school. He was dressed in black jeans and a blue silk shirt that matched his hair perfectly. Over it, because he was still getting cold at night, he had a black jacket that looked like it might have been leather and his black tennis shoes. He watched each regular as they approached the gathering place to make sure that they had all dressed correctly for their outing, and was pleased to see that they had, even if Sanada looked uncomfortable in his blue jeans and ripped t-shirt with blue tennis balls on the front. Yanagi had obviously helped Akaya pick out his outfit for the evening as Yukimura knew the youngest of their group would have shown up in sweats and his tennis jersey otherwise and made a mental note to thank Yanagi later. Niou was going to be lucky to get out of the evening unmolested if the way Yagyuu was eyeing him was any indication. The Petenshi had on tight black jeans and a silver shirt that only highlighted his hair. 

“Would you be willing to tell us exactly what kind of concert we’re going to see, Seiichi?” Yanagi asked as the group started the short walk to the train station.

“You’ll all see when we get there,” Yukimura replied. “It was not easy to get these tickets, so I expect you all to be on your best behavior and grateful for everything I’m doing for you.”

“Of course, buchou,” Niou said with a glance at Akaya. “It’s the brat you need to worry about.”

“Mou, Yanagi-senpai, they’re picking on me again,” Akaya whined latching onto Yanagi’s arm. 

“I’ll keep an eye on him for the evening,” Yanagi said with a small smile at Akaya. “It’s the least I can do.”

The group fell silent, each of them wondering exactly what their buchou had planned for them and how many laps they would have to run if they dared to say they wanted to go home or do something else that evening. And yet, none of them were quite brave enough. They took the sandwiches Yukimura had packed for their dinner and ate silently. Yukimura sat with Sanada smiling softly. No one was brave enough to ask him any other questions.

When the train got into Tokyo they followed him meekly as he walked out of the station and down the street, obviously confident on where he was going. Niou leaned over to his boyfriend. “I wonder how long he’s been planning this,” he whispered.

“There’s no way to tell,” Yagyuu replied in an equally soft whisper. “I just wish we knew more about what was going on.”

Niou pointed at a poster. “I think that’s what’s going on,” he said loudly enough that the others heard him and paused to look.

On the poster were three young men, all in their twenties, arms around each others’ shoulders, smiling at the camera. The one in the middle had his hair cut short on the right side, long on the left and bleached just enough to show light brown highlights in the black hair. He had two earrings in his left ear, one in his right, two necklaces, a bracelet of some kind and several rings on both hands. He was wearing a strategically ripped black tank top with a purple and silver jacket over it, black pants and some sort of almost knee-high black leather boot that hugged both his legs. The man on the left had long light brown hair that was styled roughly and hung down over his eyes. He had two earrings in his left ear, one of them matching the guy in the middle. He was wearing a white dress shirt with a black leather vest over it, tight black pants and boots. The third had red-brown hair that covered his ears, although there was a hint of silver in his left ear. He was dressed in a simple, yet tight black t-shirt and jeans with a knit black and silver arm warmer on his left arm.

“Yukimura,” Sanada said almost desperately. Just looking at the poster he could tell that this was not the type of music he was going to enjoy and couldn’t believe that his buchou was going to subject him to this kind of torture.

“Maybe if you had been able to win, Sanada, you wouldn’t be here,” Yukimura said. He pulled tickets out of his pocket and handed them out. “Let’s go.”  
*************************

The only ones who seemed at all happy to be surrounded by screaming girls were Marui and Jackal. Somehow Yukimura had gotten them places almost directly in front of the stage so they would have a good view of the concert, but that also meant that they were cramped in with the girls who had come to watch. Yagyuu promptly stood behind Niou and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend to warn off the girls who had been eying him. Sanada stood behind Yukimura to offer support if the buchou got tired during the concert and needed someone to lean on. The others were just spread out in a rough line.

As soon as the music started, Sanada knew that he was going to have a migraine by the end of the show. There was only a drummer, guitarist, bass player and keyboard player on the stage and Sanada soon realized that the man they’d seen in the middle of the poster was the one hosting the event. It was his concert, his band, and the other two men were guests for the performance. Sanada did his best to ignore the very blatant dance moves from all three men and just focused on his breathing. He would be able to get through this hell and home again. He would win the next time he faced Seigaku to prove to Yukimura that he wasn’t weak. Sanada had done his best to lead the team in the buchou’s absence and it stung that Yukimura thought that he’d let everyone slack off in training. He wished he was brave enough to slap Yukimura. It would save the team a lot of pain. Sanada was all for hard training, but he never actively tried to kill his regulars. He wasn’t sure exactly what Yukimura had planned for them, how the overly loud concert fit into it, but he was sure that there would likely be a mutiny before it was all over. If any of them were brave enough to go up against Yukimura anyway. That was where it all kind of fell apart.

Sanada glanced over at Yagyuu to see how the gentleman was handling the noise and wished he hadn’t. From the looks of things, Niou was enjoying the music and dancing and had been doing a little dancing of his own, rubbing against his boyfriend causing a problem for Yagyuu that wasn’t going to go away any time soon. Sanada rubbed his eyes and hoped that Akaya wouldn’t notice. He really didn’t want loud questions about why there was a large bulge behind Yagyuu’s fly. A glance at the baby demon showed that Akaya was watching the concert, obviously trying to figure out exactly why they where there and what his beloved buchou wanted him to learn from the experience. Sanada sighed, puffing Yukimura’s hair a little. There were days that Akaya’s blind loyalty to Yukimura gave him an even bigger headache than he was getting from the, well, he couldn’t really call it music, did.

Finally, after almost three hours of torture for Sanada, the concert was over and he thought that they would be able to go home again. He paused when he realized he was the only one who seemed to be moving. “Yukimura?”

“Where are you going, Sanada?” Yukimura asked with a sweet smile.

“Back to the train station,” Sanada replied.

“Not yet, Sanada; we still have to pay our respects to the performers,” Yukimura said, “and thank them for such an enjoyable performance.”

Sanada bit back a sigh. “How are we going to do that?” he asked.

“I have an invitation,” Yukimura said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Come along, everyone. And Sanada...”

“Yes?”

“Lie.”

The team followed Yukimura to the stairs at the side of the stage and, after he showed a piece of paper, up onto the stage and back into the wings. No one seemed to take much notice of the eight teens as they walked up some stairs and into a well-lit hallway with several dressing rooms. Yukimura went to one and tapped on the door before opening it. “Nakagauchi-san?”

“Come in.”

Sanada was shocked to find it was the guy from the middle of the poster. He’d already changed into a pair of sweatpants and a clean t-shirt and was in the process of taking off his stage make-up. “Everyone, this is Nakagauchi Masataka-san,” Yukimura said.

Masa smiled at the teens and stood up. “Let me get the others,” he said. “Just a second.” He went to the door directly across from his and tapped on it. “Oi, our students are here.”

Yanagi’s open eyes met Sanada’s and he mouthed ‘students’ in as much confusion as Sanada was feeling. The rest of the team glanced around as if searching for an answer, but didn’t say anything. It was almost as if they could feel the aura from Yukimura and didn’t want to piss him off any more than he already was. They could all see many laps in their future if they weren’t careful.

The door opened to reveal the other two men from the concert. They’d also changed into more casual clothes. Masa led the way back into the room and leaned against the table with a grin. “This is Furukawa Yuuta and Yoshihide Sasaki,” he said. “I’m guessing from your confusion that your buchou hasn’t filled you in on the details yet.”

“They won’t argue,” Yukimura said. “Everyone, starting tomorrow, you will all be learning to dance.”

The regulars stared at him, shocked. Yuuta smiled. “I think you’ve managed to startle them, Yukimura-kun,” he said.

Masa had walked around behind the regulars, studying all of them closely. He stopped by Sanada. “You need to relax more,” he said. 

“Yukimura,” Sanada said staring at his buchou.

“This is not up for debate, Sanada,” Yukimura said. “Not only will Nakagauchi-san and his friends be teaching you to dance, they will all be helping you learn how to move properly. On and off the tennis court.”

“What if we refuse?” Marui asked popping a bubble.

“You can leave your jersey on the bench in the locker room,” Yukimura replied. “Dance lessons are now required for all regulars. And, as I said, we start tomorrow.”

Masa grinned. “Make sure to bring comfortable clothes,” he said. “We won’t be going easy on you.”


	2. Chapter 2

When most of the regulars arrived at the locker room the following morning, they found it locked with a note on the door in Yukimura’s handwriting instructing them to go to the gym. Sanada bit back a groan, half hoping that the previous night had been a bad dream and everything would be back to normal when he got to the tennis courts, but luck wasn’t with him. He had to do what Yukimura told him to regain the honor he’d lost when the Seigaku brat defeated him. 

The teachers were already in the gym with Yukimura and - to everyone’s surprise Niou - stretching. Masa looked up as the door opened. “Good morning, everyone. Please change and start stretching with Yuuta and Hide-chan.”

“We know how to warm up,” Yanagi commented, his eyes actually opening in surprise.

“For tennis,” Yuuta said. “Dancing is different and you need to be stretched properly before trying anything or you’ll hurt yourself. If it makes you feel better, however, you can start with your normal routine.”

Hide-chan pushed off the wall and rejoined the group. He’d been stretching his shoulders and back. “Yukimura-kun, I think there’s going to be problems with everyone for a couple of days. We need to make sure that no one gets injured.”

“He’s right,” Masa added. “I normally don’t teach unwilling students, so I’m not sure the best way to go about this class.”

“I think your plan is a good one,” Niou said. “I’ll help out however I can.”

Yukimura smiled. “I’m not surprised to find out you can dance, Niou,” he said. “But are you good enough to help teach these classes?”

“We’ll find out today,” Masa commented. “If he is, though, it will make things easier because we’ll be able to work with each player more closely. But I think that Sanada-kun, Yanagi-kun, and Yagyuu-kun will be the three hardest to teach.”

“Yagyuu can move better than you think,” Niou smirked.

“In bed is one thing,” Hide-chan said. “On the floor is another.”

“Not always,” Niou said making Yuuta choke on his water.

“I don’t remember being this smug at fifteen,” he finally managed to say.

“You were,” Masa commented, “in some ways.”

Akaya came bouncing back to the group and plopped down next to Yukimura. “Buchou, is it true that these lessons will help us win?” he asked.

“If you take them seriously,” Yukimura replied. “You’ll need to focus, Akaya, just like if you were learning a new tennis move.”

“I promise,” Akaya said. He pushed back a little and started to stretch.

Yanagi and Sanada had paired up and were stretching off to the side, watching everything with a shared sense of horror. For Yanagi it was a chance to gather some good data on his team mates, but at the same time, he didn’t want to risk Sanada killing everyone before it was over. He was worried that there would be a fight between his two best friends and one of them wouldn’t come out of it the same. Deep down he had a feeling that it would be Sanada.

Sanada just wanted to be on the tennis court working on his game so he could beat Seigaku. He knew that he would be taking on Tezuka next time, there was no way that Yukimura wouldn’t let him face the other buchou, and he had to perfect Rai as well. There were still holes in the technique that needed to be fixed and Yanagi was the only one who would be able to help him.

And what were they doing instead? They were going to learn to dance. What good was dancing on the tennis court? It made no sense and he couldn’t figure out what Yukimura was thinking. If he was just trying to punish Sanada and the others for losing, why weren’t they running laps? Yukimura loved to make people run laps. Watching people run laps always made Yukimura smile, especially after they collapsed on the ground because they couldn’t run any more. 

“Niou-kun,” Masa said breaking into Sanada’s thoughts. “Since you’re already stretched and ready to go, why don’t you help us set up the first couple of tests?”

“Sure,” Niou agreed with a grin. “Just tell me what you need to do.”

“Niou, you know what’s waiting for you if anyone here ends up pranked, right?” Yukimura asked from his spot on the floor.

“I promise no pranks here, Yukimura,” Niou said. “This is going to be too much fun on it’s own to spoil.”

Hide-chan sat down next to Yukimura. “Pranks?”

“Ah, Niou is our resident petenshi,” Yukimura said with a fond smile. “And he has a tendency to get a little out of control at times.” He turned to watch the platinum-haired boy help set up boxes and a couple of ropes. “It’s his tennis play and his way of gaining attention. But if he says he won’t do something here, he won’t. You won’t have to worry.”

“You’re fond of him, aren’t you?”

“I am; I love all my regulars,” Yukimura replied. “That’s why I want to know that they’re all working to their full potential.”

“Then we should get to work,” Hide-chan smiled. “We’ll bring out their dancing spirit, Yukimura-kun. It just might take a while with some of them.”  
*****************************

“All right, everyone, gather around,” Masa said after the team had spent about half an hour on warming up. “This is a simple test to see how well you move and how good your balance is. Watch Hide-chan, please.”

Hide-chan grinned at the boys and jumped over the first rope into a dive roll under the second one and then came back to his feet with what looked like no effort at all. He hopped from one box to the next switching legs, but never letting both feet touch at the same time until he reached the tallest. Then he leapt off backwards and landed as nimbly as a cat, keeping his balance perfectly.

“Now that looks like fun,” Niou commented. “Masa-san, can I?”

“Go ahead, Niou-kun,” Masa replied with a smile. 

Niou wasn’t quite as graceful as Hide-chan, but he mimicked the older boy as closely as he could even though he had to use his leg to keep his balance after the leap from the tall box. Masa nodded, “well done, Niou-kun,” he said. “I’d like to hear more about your switch technique later, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure,” Niou grinned. “Go on, Yagyuu. Show them that you’re just as good as I am.”

Yagyuu took off his glasses with a sigh. “I wish you wouldn’t lie, Niou-kun.” He closed his eyes for a minute and then reached up and mussed his perfectly combed hair. When he opened his eyes there was a glint in them that hadn’t been there before and he jumped into action. Niou smirked and twirled his rat tail as he watched the others watch Yagyuu. And he was there at the end when Yagyuu landed in a heap having missed judged the distance to the floor.

“Puri, I don’t lie, Niou,” Niou said kissing Yagyuu’s forehead softly. 

“You should have done that as yourself,” Yukimura said with a soft sigh.

“Then I wouldn’t have made it at all,” Yagyuu said taking his glasses back from Niou. “And we win no matter what, right, buchou?”

“Well done, Yagyuu,” Yukimura conceded.

Yuuta leaned down close to his friend’s ear. “I don’t think these boys are totally sane,” he whispered.

“You’re right,” Hide-chan agreed. “Fun, isn’t it?”

The rest of the team went through the test, Akaya doing the best of the remaining group. Marui and Jackal couldn’t manage the dive roll properly, and Sanada and Yanagi were too stiff to manage any part of it. Masa nodded. “I guess we have our three groups,” he said. “Niou-kun, Yagyuu-kun, Kirihara-kun, you’ll be working with Hide-chan to perfect your movements and timing. Marui-kun, Jackal-kun, you’re with me. Sanada-kun, you and Yanagi-kun will be with Yuuta.”

“Why three groups?” Yanagi asked.

“The three of us are all better at different styles of dancing,” Masa replied with a smile. “And Yuuta’s is ballet which is a good place to start for movement and relaxation. The two of you are far too stiff.”

Sanada’s jaw had dropped at the mention of ballet. He glanced at Yukimura wondering if he would be able to make it to the door before the Child of God did something to him. But the look in the blue eyes stopped him cold. There wasn’t a chance in hell that he would be able to escape. He bit his lip and pulled his hat down a little. He was in trouble now.  
********************************

Yuuta set his group to a set of special stretches while Hide-chan started teaching his group the first set of steps to a song called - much to Sanada’s embarrassment - Ecstasy. He watched in amazement and growing discomfort as Hide-chan went through the whole dance. “Yukimura,” he finally called. “Do you really think something like this is appropriate for Akaya?”

Yukimura tilted his head to the side, considering for a moment. “I think it’ll be okay as long as he promises never to perform it outside of the gym. Akaya?”

“I promise, buchou,” Akaya grinned. He wasn’t sure what the big deal about the dance was; it was fun and made him move in ways he hadn’t considered before, but he could feel his balance improving every time he tried. 

“I’d be more worried about Niou and Yagyuu,” Marui called from across the gym. He was standing on one leg, leaning forward with his arms outstretched for balance. 

“They’re old enough to worry about themselves,” Yukimura said. “And they know better than to try anything on the school grounds.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Seiichi,” Yanagi said.

“Oi, you promised,” Niou called. He lost his balance for a minute, but somehow managed to recover and keep his feet.

Hide-chan nodded. “That’s what I like to see,” he said. “Thinking on your feet. Yagyuu-kun, Kirihara-kun, you should pay attention to what Niou-kun does. He’ll be able to help you if we’re not here.”

“That goes for everyone,” Masa said. “It seems that Niou-kun has an amazing sense of balance.”

Yukimura looked over with one of his godly smiles. “However, if I find out that any of you are pulling pranks on your classmates, you will be running laps until you graduate. Does everyone understand?”

“Yes, buchou,” the regulars echoed and went back to whatever they were doing. It seemed like Yukimura was in one of his moods and none of them wanted to be the one to piss him off.


	3. Chapter 3

“Niou-kun, could I talk to you for a moment?” Masa asked when the group took a break for lunch. No one was sure how he had done it, but Yukimura managed to convince the school that the tennis team needed to be excused from regular classes for a week to prepare for Nationals.

“Sure,” Niou replied with a smile. He handed his lunch to Yagyuu and followed the older man out of the gym. “What’s up, Masa-san?”

“I need your help with Sanada,” Masa admitted. “He’s not going to relax no matter what we do and I want to prove to him that what he’s learning will help him on the tennis court.”

Niou wrapped his rat tail around his finger and considered for a minute. “Sanada is always like that,” he finally said. “Tennis, Rikkai, Yukimura and kendo are his life and he never seems to want to add in anything new.”

Masa sighed. “Can you change into your buchou?”

“I’m not allowed to.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Masa smiled. “Go get your tennis racket and meet me back here. I’ll talk with Yukimura-kun and let him know what I’m planning. Actually, get Yagyuu-kun’s too.”

“All right, be right back,” Niou said and hurried off.

Masa shook his head and went back into the gym. “Yukimura-kun, I have an idea I need to talk with you about, please.”

“What is it?” Yukimura asked when he had joined Masa.

“A way to get Sanada-kun to relax a little more. The catch is that I need you to be out of the gym and permission for Niou-kun to be you for a while.”

Yukimura shook his head. “It won’t work, Sanada knows I’m still too sick to dance. He’ll never believe it’s me.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Well then, we’ll just have to change the plan a little then.” He paused when Niou rejoined them rackets and a small basket of balls in his hands. “Thank you, Niou-kun. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.”  
*************************

Yuuta shook his head when he saw Masa’s smirk. “He’s up to something,” he whispered.

“It can only help,” Hide-chan replied. “Sanada-kun and Yanagi-kun are far too stiff, and Jackal-kun isn’t much better. I just don’t know what else we can do to help them out.”

“Are those tennis rackets?” Yuuta asked.

“Looks like it. Now I’m curious.”

Masa took Niou and Yagyuu over to a far corner of the gym and started teaching them some basic ballet moves. For all that Yuuta was better at ballet, for the teens watching, they couldn’t tell the difference. Niou, of course, picked things up faster than Yagyuu - which was exactly what Masa had been hoping for. He was already plotting ways to get the platinum haired boy into a dance class or competition, because he just couldn’t stand to see talent not used.

“Min’na,” Yukimura called at a nod from Masa, “please watch Niou and Yagyuu.”

Yagyuu moved back a fair distance and took a tennis ball out of his pocket. He waited until his boyfriend nodded and volleyed it carefully, aiming for a certain spot. Niou grinned and used one of the moves Masa had just taught him to reach the ball and return it to Yagyuu, who intentionally lobbed it. With a leap in the air - graceful and in control of course - Niou met the ball and returned it just out of Yagyuu’s reach. Yagyuu grinned and, somehow, managed to meet the ball and return it again. 

“Enough,” Yukimura called, knowing full well that they would turn it into a match if they had half a chance. “Thank you both.”

“Keep the rackets,” Hide-chan called. “I have an idea.”

“Sanada,” Yukimura said, “did you see that?”

“Yukimura, I just can’t move like that,” Sanada said. “I’m not a dancer.”

Masa shook his head. “Everyone can dance,” he said. “Just some better than others. “Yuuta, why not take Sanada-kun out into the hall and work with him there for a while? Maybe being away from the group will ease his nerves a little and he can relax.”

“I’m not nervous. Tarundoru!” Sanada snapped automatically. He pulled his hat down when he realized everyone was staring at him. “Gomen, Masa-san.”

“It’s okay,” Masa said. “Go with Yuuta. Yanagi-kun, you can come and work with my group for a while.”

Yanagi nodded and sighed. He had so much new data to write down that he really just wanted an hour to himself to readjust everything. But he also knew that Yukimura would kill him if he left for any reason, even data. He watched one of his best friends walk out the door like he was going to be executed and sighed. “Seiichi, can I talk with you for a minute, please?”

“Of course, Renji,” Yukimura smiled. He sat down next to his friend and grabbed a rice ball from the still mostly full bento. “You should eat. Data collection can wait, no matter what you seem to think.”

“I’m concerned about Genichiro.”

“He’s just sulking,” Yukimura replied. “He not only lost to Seigaku, he lost to a seventh grader and that’s doubly unacceptable to him. Plus he feels that he let me down. I’m only acting like he expects; you know that.”

“But why are you tormenting him with these dance lessons?” Yanagi asked. “For Niou, Yagyuu and the others it’s fine. It’s something that they will be able to use on the courts. Especially our petenshi pair. But for Genichiro, Jackal and myself it’s pointless and I believe Genichiro feels humiliated. I believe that this will have the opposite effect on his tennis game than you are hoping for.”

Yukimura smiled softly and looked over his team. Niou and Yagyuu were talking with Hide-chan about something and grinning wickedly, looking more like twins than they had any right to. Akaya was hanging off of Jackal’s arm with Marui watching, chewing absently on a piece of cake. “Your data is off in this, Renji,” he finally said. “As you don’t know what I hope to accomplish with these lessons. But I’ll let you know when you figure it out.”

“Oi, Masa,” Hide-chan called, “come here for a minute.”

“What’s up?”

“This should be interesting,” Yukimura commented. “Renji, please just trust me for a day or so more. Then, if Sanada is still having issues, then I’ll take care of things. But I want him to have the time to think.”

“Very well,” Yanagi sighed. “Do you think they would mind if I took some time to enter data in my notebook?”

“They might not, but I do. You need to eat, Renji. Now.”  
************************

The Rikkai teens were surprised when Masa and Hide-chan changed groups after lunch so Masa could work with Niou and Yagyuu. Akaya got moved into the other group as well, at Yukimura’s insistence when he learned they would be dancing with tennis rackets. He trusted his baby demon, but didn’t want to risk anyone getting hurt if things got out of control. Which, around his team, they often did.

He watched in amusement as Masa started dancing holding a borrowed racket. It was a simple dance, or so it seemed as they watched Masa perform it the first time. Yagyuu ended up tripping over his own feet the first time he tried to move, causing Niou to collapse laughing. Masa just shook his head. “I warned you this wouldn’t be easy,” he said. “But really, Yagyuu-kun, I’m surprised.”

“I just lost track of where I was, Masa-san,” Yagyuu replied pushing his glasses back into place. “My apologies.”

“Like this, Yeahgyuu,” Niou said, having finally calmed down. He stepped in behind his boyfriend and started to move.

“You need to stop that now, Niou-kun,” Yagyuu said.

“Why?” Niou asked.

“Because you’re about to cause a reaction that Yukimura-kun would kill us both over if Kirihara-kun sees it.”

Masa laughed and tried to twirl the racket a couple of times like he’d seen the others doing. “You two are terrible.”

“Make sure they are who they say they are,” Marui called from across the gym.

“Go eat some cake, fatty,” Niou called back. “Seriously, Yagyuu, watch me for a minute.” He made the first turn slowly and planted his foot for the second easily. “Here’s where you got all tangled up. Make sure that this foot is in place before you even try to move.”

“Let me see you again, Yagyuu-kun,” Masa said. 

Yagyuu pushed his glasses back into place and started the dance over, tripping in exactly the same spot he had the previous time. “Maybe without the racket,” he said blushing.

“Try it,” Masa agreed watching closely. He had a feeling that Yagyuu was mis-planting his feet and wanted to watch that as closely as he could. When Yagyuu landed exactly the same way for the third time, he sighed. “This is a little too complicated for you right now, Yagyuu-kun. You need to learn how to turn properly first. Let me show Niou-kun a few more steps and then we’ll start on turns with you.”


	4. Chapter 4

Yuuta leaned up against the wall and studied Sanada closely. “What’s your real objection to all of this, Sanada-kun?” he asked softly. “It can’t be that men don’t dance because my friends and I are proof against that. I promise I won’t tell anyone, but I can’t help you unless you talk with me.”

“This isn’t tennis,” Sanada said. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “This is jumping around to crap that isn’t even music and being forced to do something stupid when I could be training.”

“Ah, I get it,” Yuuta said. “Let me talk with your buchou and we’ll take a little trip tomorrow rather than working here. Go ahead and stretch out and then work on something that will keep you loose for the rest of the day. I’ll go and see how well my plan will work, okay?”

Sanada nodded and sank to the floor to start stretching. Yuuta smiled to himself and slipped back into the gym. He looked around and finally spotted Yukimura sitting against the far wall watching each of his players closely. Yuuta could tell who was having fun and who was doing it only because they had been told too, and had to admire all the boys for listening to their buchou without question. “Yukimura-kun, I have a favor to ask,” he said softly sitting down next to the younger boy.

“What is it, Yuuta-san?”

“I think that Sanada-kun would benefit from a small field trip tomorrow rather than training,” Yuuta said. “Would you give him permission to go down into Tokyo with me? There’s a couple of things I want him to see.”

“You’re the teacher,” Yukimura said. “If you think it will help him, then please, whatever you want to do. I’m still hoping that he’ll realize exactly what I want him to gain from this experience.”

Yuuta smiled. “I think he will, but it’ll take some time.”

“I’ll have a talk with him before he leaves in the morning,” Yukimura said. “What time do you want him in Tokyo?”

“Around eleven, I’ll have to make some phone calls first,” Yuuta said. “Thanks, Yukimura-kun. I’ll keep working with him out in the hall, it seems to be helping a little.”

“Okay, thank you for your time.”  
******************************

It was after six when Masa finally called the class to an end for the day, wanting to spend as much time working with the team as possible. “Niou-kun, if you could stay, please, I need to speak with you about something,” Masa said. “Everyone else, we’ll meet back here tomorrow morning at the same time. If you arrive before I do, just start stretching and work on what you learned today.”

Niou whispered something to Yagyuu and went over to Masa. “What’s up, Masa-san?”

“I know tennis is the most important thing for you, Niou-kun, but have you ever thought about starting to dance more?” Masa asked. “You have talent for it and it would be remiss if I didn’t at least suggest this to you.”

“I hadn’t thought about it,” Niou replied. He sat down and leaned back on his hands. “I love tennis, but I could find time for another activity. Sanada does it, so it shouldn’t be that hard. But how do I got about this?”

Masa sat down next to him and smiled. “I’ll bring you some information on some dance competitions down in Tokyo,” he said. “But I had another idea, if you don’t mind some extra work in the next couple of weeks.”

“Puri, not if it’s for something fun,” Niou grinned.

“Good, then why don’t we do this.....”  
********************************

Niou caught up with Yagyuu at his house, the Gentleman up in his room doing homework. “Oi, we have the week off and you’re still doing that crap?” Niou demanded flopping down onto Yagyuu’s bed.

“Better to get it taken care of now than wait until the last minute,” Yagyuu replied. “It wouldn’t hurt you to do some homework as well, Niou-kun.”

“Nah, wouldn’t want to ruin my reputation. How long are you going to be?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Because your family isn’t home and we wouldn’t have to worry about making noise for a while,” Niou smirked. “You can always do homework after dinner, Yagyuu.”

Yagyuu turned and smiled. “You do have a point,” he said. “And I have been feeling a little tingly since you tried dancing behind me earlier today.” He took off his glasses and placed them on the desk carefully. “What did Masa-san want to talk with you about?”

“Nothing much, just some ideas for the next few days,” Niou replied. “He’s going to let us play with rackets again tomorrow as long as we promise not to get carried away.” He paused as Yagyuu rolled over him and onto the bed. “This class is fun, isn’t it?”

“For some of us, yes,” Yagyuu agreed running his hand along Niou’s stomach. “But I think that Sanada-kun is ready to kill Yukimura if he could only work up the nerve. And Yanagi-kun would rather be collecting data on all of us than dancing.”

“I think Sanada is convinced that we’ll all end up in pink tights or something, maybe tutus too,” Niou grinned. “I should suggest that to Yukimura.”

“You wouldn’t look good in pink, Niou-kun,” Yagyuu said. He slipped his hand under Niou’s t-shirt and smiled. “But if you can find black tights then maybe we can work something out.”

Niou rolled his head so he could look at his boyfriend. “You got a kink or something I should know about, Yeahgyuu?” he asked.

“Maybe,” Yagyuu grinned. He leaned in and kissed Niou softly. “I think you’ll just have to work it out for yourself though.”

“Sounds like fun,” Niou grinned. He shifted until he could press up against Yagyuu’s body and leaned in to kiss him again, hands holding on as tightly as they could. Yagyuu rolled them so Niou was on his back and the Gentleman was on top. “Someone is feisty today,” Niou whispered when they broke apart.

“I can’t help it if you have this effect on me,” Yagyuu replied with another kiss. “I think I’ll just keep you here until tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan, just make sure that I’m able to move in the morning, or we’ll both be in trouble.” Niou pushed up with his hips. “And I don’t want to risk pissing off Yukimura any more than he already is.”

“We’ll just have to be careful then, won’t we?” Yagyuu whispered.  
************************

Yukimura stretched out on his bed with a sigh. It had been a long day and the days would only get longer as the week went on, especially if Sanada kept fighting him every step of the way. Yukimura hated that he’d had to abandon his team during the Kantou match, he knew it was his fault that they’d lost, because he hadn’t been there to help his team. They had all been focused on him when they should have been focused on tennis, and that was why they lost. He knew that his doubles pairs had done their best, winning their matches and part of him didn’t know how fair it was to punish them with the dance lessons, but Niou and Yagyuu seemed to be having so much fun that it was beside the point anyway. Yukimura was just happy to be back with him team and working with them so they would be able to win Nationals. 

What none of the regulars seemed to have realized was that Yukimura was doing his own form of training in addition to his physical therapy to get his command and strength back. It was the way he’d met Masa-san in the first place. And he knew how lucky he was that the older man had time in his buys schedule to come and teach the team for a week.

He flipped his phone open and pushed the answer button. “Sanada?”

“You wanted to speak with me, Yukimura?”

“Yes. When you go down to Tokyo tomorrow with Yuuta-san, please remember that you are there as a representative of Rikkai and our team,” Yukimura said. “And that I will be receiving a full report when you get home again.”

“Why are we doing this, Yukimura?” Sanada asked. “It seems like laps would be so much better for punishment and training.”

“Sanada, are you questioning me?” Yukimura asked softly in reply.

“Of course not, just offering my opinion,” Sanada said quickly. 

“Sanada, I know you did your best to handle the team while I was gone, but it’s obvious that the training you and Renji did wasn’t enough,” Yukimura said. “It’s time for me to take the team in hand and ensure that we are strong enough to win Nationals in straight matches. I do not want a single loss. Or questions about my training methods. Have fun in Tokyo tomorrow and keep an open mind. I do not want to hear a negative report, is that clear?”

“Yes, buchou,” Sanada said and hung up.

Yukimura put his phone down with a small sigh. He just wanted Sanada to get it. But maybe he would have to explain things after all. How disappointing. He glanced at the clock and stood. He had his own work to do before he went to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

One thing that Sanada would not tolerate, no matter how upset or angry he was, was being late. He didn’t tolerate it from any of the regulars, and he was even more strict with himself. And that was the reason he was in the train station in Tokyo well before eleven. He found a bench and sat with one of his textbooks to study until Yuuta arrived for whatever they were doing for the day.

“Sanada-kun.”

“Good morning, Yuuta-san,” Sanada replied. He closed his book and checked his watch, noting that it was eleven exactly. His respect level went up slightly. “I guess I’m in your hands for the day.”

“You don’t have to make it sound like you’re going to be executed,” Yuuta said. “Come on, we don’t have far to go, so I thought we’d just walk. I thought this would be a good experience for you, and got lucky. One of my sensei’s is in town working with one of his groups.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see the connection,” Sanada said.

“Ueshima-sensei is one of my dance instructors,” Yuuta replied. “He’s working with a musical company right now as a coach and director, and was pleased to offer an invitation for you to come and see what they’re doing.”

Sanada didn’t know what to think. “I wouldn’t want to intrude,” he finally said.

“You aren’t,” Yuuta said. “Sensei enjoys teaching and was happy when I called him to explain what was going on. I honestly wasn’t sure if he was even in town or not, but had some others in mind as a back-up if it had come to that.”

“How long have you been performing?” Sanada asked. He didn’t think the man was much older than he was.

“Since I was younger than you,” Yuuta replied with a smile. “I met Masa at dance school when he was sixteen and I was fourteen. We’ve been friends ever since. There’s just something nice about singing and dancing.”

“Why doesn’t anyone seem to realize that it’s not for everyone?” Sanada asked. “I’m not trying to start an argument or anything, but I do not like dancing.”

Yuuta just smiled. “Wait until you see what they’re working on and see if you still agree,” he said. “Are you familiar with the manga Fuuma no Kojirou?”

“I think Akaya reads it.”

“They’re staging the second musical,” Yuuta said. “I was in the first one as Kirikaze, but had already agreed to do the tour with Masa and another musical when they asked me to come back for this one. I really wanted to, but couldn’t make it work. But some of my friends are back, and I know they’ll be happy to talk with you too.”

Sanada feel quiet. He couldn’t tell if Yuuta was intentionally missing his point or if he just wasn’t being clear, but it was frustrating to say the least. He cursed Yukimura silently again for getting him into such a situation. Sanada would be much happier to just go and run laps and train; anything to get out of having to dance. Just the word was starting to make him shiver. 

They approached a building and went around to a side door. Sanada wasn’t sure where they were, but followed Yuuta silently into the building and along a well-lit hallway until they came to an auditorium. He could hear the sound of wooden swords hitting each other and, in spite of himself, was curious. Sanada wasn’t familiar with the manga Yuuta had named, but when he’d heard stage play and based off of what he knew about Yuuta, he’d assumed that it would be some sort of ballet.

Yuuta pushed open the door and led the way down the isle towards the stage. Sanada followed, looking around as he went. He was amazed to see that all of the actors on the stage had swords in hand and had paused in their battle to see who had come in. 

“Yuuta!” a man with long black hair called. “I wondered when you would show up again.”

“Hey, Shindo-san,” Yuuta replied with a smile. “I wish I could have been here for this, but you know how schedules are.” He hoped up onto the stage and hugged the older man. “But it looks like you’re doing great.”

Shindo-san grinned and set his sword down. “I think it’s because of our sensei,” he said. “He didn’t mention you’d be here today. What’s up?”

“I have a student who thinks that dancing is all tights and frills,” Yuuta grinned. “And not manly. So I brought him to meet Sensei and watch you guys for a while. I think we just got lucky in our timing.”

“I didn’t realize you were teaching,” Shindo-san said. “Is this him?”

“It’s something Masa asked me and Hide to help on,” Yuuta replied. “And yes, this is Sanada Genichiro.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sanada said with a bow. He chose to ignore the other stuff that Yuuta had said about him, as it was all true. Sanada had to respect those who told the truth.

Shindo-san grinned. “He’s polite if nothing else,” he said. “Don’t be so shy, Sanada-kun, come on up on stage and get a feel for what we’re doing. Sensei won’t mind a bit.”

Yuuta hid a smile and turned back to his friend. “I’ll go find Sensei and let him know we’re here, Shindo-san, if you’d be willing to talk with Sanada-kun for a bit.”

“Sure,” Shindo-san agreed.  
************************

If the rest of the regulars were curious about where Sanada was when they all gathered for their next dance lesson, they didn’t say anything. Yukimura didn’t look upset, so they decided it wasn’t worth it to ask questions. Masa just grinned and broke them into two groups for the day, because Yuuta was missing as well. Marui, Jackal, and Yanagi went into one group to work with Hide-chan for the morning. Niou, Yagyuu and Akaya were with Masa. He made sure to keep the tennis rackets away from Akaya and set the younger boy to working on a set of moves that were simple at first, but worked the muscles the more they were repeated. Then he set up Yagyuu with some steps to help his balance and went to work with Niou.

“Did you tell anyone what you’re planning?” he asked softly as he and Niou went through some extra stretches.

“No, and I don’t want to,” Niou replied just as softly. “Because they’d talk me out of it and tell me that I need to focus on tennis.”

“Okay, it’s our secret then,” Masa smiled. 

“Thanks, Masa-san,” Niou said. “Okay, I’m ready when you are.”  
************************

Ueshima-sensei stood in the wings with Yuuta and watched. “He really is stiff,” he said. “I believe that boy has no sense of rhythm at all.”

“Is he completely unteachable, sensei?” Yuuta asked.

“No one is completely unteachable, but until he realizes that his determination to ignore everything around him, including your instructions, is only harming his performance then there’s nothing you can do.”

“And there’s no way to help him learn that?”

Sensei hefted the rubber shoe he always had with him at practices and smiled. “I didn’t say that, Yuuta-chan,” he said. “But at the same time tough love isn’t always going to work.”

“Anything you can tell me will help, sensei,” Yuuta said. “Because I’m completely at a loss on how to teach him.”

“And Masa probably is too,” Sensei sighed. “I wish you could leave him with me for a couple of days, but he has his school and I have a group to get ready for opening night. So we’ll have to squeeze as much as possible into one afternoon.”

Yuuta winced. “He does have to take the train home, sensei.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  
*************************

When the group broke for lunch, Yukimura made his way over to where Yagyuu was sitting by himself and settled down next to him. “What’s wrong, Yagyuu?” he asked softly. “You haven’t been yourself all day.”

“I’m concerned about Niou-kun,” Yagyuu replied. “He’s planning something and won’t tell me about it. While that is hardly unusual, I believe that in this case it’s something he knows I won’t like nor approve of and that is why he is keeping it a secret from me.”

“Do you think it’s something bad?” Yukimura asked. “It is rare for the two of you to not be completely in sync, even if he is planning something.”

Yagyuu watched Niou dancing with Masa and sighed. “These dance lessons have flipped a switch within Niou-kun that I doubt even he knew existed,” he said. “Watch him closely, Yukimura-kun. He is more alive now than anywhere except on the tennis courts. There’s something about all of this that makes me uncomfortable.”

“If I had known these dance lessons would cause such problems I wouldn’t have started them in the first place,” Yukimura muttered softly. “Yagyuu, I wouldn’t worry. You know how Niou is. He’s probably just amassing information to be able to use it in his pranks and illusions.”

“If you say so, Yukimura-kun,” Yagyuu said. He turned back and looked at his boyfriend again. Niou was talking with Masa and Hide about something, his face glowing and his eyes bright, looking truly happy. Yagyuu had never seen Niou’s face like that away from the tennis court, not even when they were together. It didn’t matter what Yukimura said, Yagyuu could feel Niou being taken away from him and he didn’t like it one bit.  
******************************

“I do apologize, Sanada-kun,” Yuuta said as they walked back to the train station after a quick supper. “I had no idea Ueshima-sensei would be so hard on you today.”

“I’ve undergone harsher training,” Sanada said. He was trying not to move his body too much. He’d never realized that being hit repeatedly with a rubber shoe would hurt so much. His ass was burning and he wondered if he would be able to sit on the train, let alone move the next day. “It was an enlightening experience, Yuuta-san.”

“Really?”

Sanada nodded firmly. “Everyone involved in professional dancing is insane,” he said. 

Yuuta had to cover his mouth quickly to keep from smiling. “I’ve never thought of it that way before,” he said. “I suppose, to some, we must seem that way. Sensei is a perfectionist and demands the same from his students, but at the same time, he has one of the most wicked senses of humor I’ve ever run across.”

“Why does he carry a shoe around with him?”

“For exactly the reason you saw today,” Yuuta said. “Surely you saw how just the sight of it was enough to inspire the performers to work harder.”

“May I ask what he handed you at the end of the day?” Sanada asked, his tone laced with suspicion.

“It’s a present for Masa-san,” Yuuta replied. “He and Sensei have worked together for a long time and are friends as well as teacher and student.”

Sanada nodded and pulled his hat down. “Thank you for your time today, Yuuta-san,” he said. “I suppose I will see you tomorrow?”

“You will. Have a good night, Sanada-kun.”  
***********************

“You go on, Yagyuu,” Niou said. “I’m going to stay and work for a couple of more hours. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Yagyuu sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you, Niou-kun?”

“It’s fine, I know you want to finish your homework for the day,” Niou said. “Hey, you could even finish mine for me if you want to.”

“No, Niou-kun.”

“It was worth a try,” Niou smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

Yagyuu watched Niou walk back over to join up with Masa and Hide and wondered, again, what the hell was going on.


	6. Chapter 6

It was all Yagyuu could do not to hit his head against a wall. Niou wasn’t answering his cell phone. He hadn’t come over to annoy Yagyuu the night before or spend time with his boyfriend. And he wasn’t at home when Yagyuu stopped by to walk to their dance lessons together. Yagyuu didn’t know what was going on, but he had to have an answer. If Niou was planning something, then Yagyuu wanted to know what it was. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost walked into Sanada.

“Yagyuu!”

“Oh, good morning, Sanada-kun,” Yagyuu replied. “How was your day yesterday? It would seem that you did something rather rough.”

Sanada winced at the thought of the rubber shoe hitting him. “I went to see some of Yuuta-san’s friends in Tokyo and met one of his instructors,” Sanada replied. “It was not a pleasant experience.”

“Were they dancers?”

“They’re in the process of staging a musical and were kind enough to allow me to work with them for the day,” Sanada said. “It was interesting to see, even if I still don’t understand why we’re having to dance.”

Yagyuu glanced over at the fukubuchou. “That’s quite a shift in attitude, Sanada-kun,” he said. “What happened?”

“Sensei happened,” Yuuta said as he fell into step with the boys.

“Good morning, Yuuta-san,” Yagyuu said with a smile. “ Which musical were they working on?”

“Fuuma no Kojiro,” Yuuta replied. “This is the second one and they have a new actor in my role as I wasn’t able to join them this time.”

“How interesting.” Yagyuu paused in the doorway to the gym and felt his heart sink. Niou was already there and working with Masa on a new dance. And from the look of things, he had been there for a while. “Would you excuse me, please, Yuuta-san?”

Yuuta’s eyes followed to where Yagyuu had been looking and nodded. “Of course, just make sure you get warmed up before we start for the day,” he said.

Yagyuu bowed and walked slowly across the gym, taking the time to study Niou. The Petenshi looked happy and alive, almost more so than when he was on the tennis court. Yagyuu hadn’t known that his boyfriend loved to dance so much, or that he had such a talent for it. It was fairly obvious that the steps being taught away from class were at an advanced level. “Good morning, Masa-san, Niou-kun,” he said.

“Hey Yagyuu,” Niou replied. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering if I could talk with you for a moment, Niou-kun?”

“Go ahead and take a break, Niou,” Masa said with a smile. “I need to check in with Yuuta and get everyone started for the day.”

“Okay,” Niou grinned. He grabbed a towel and water bottle and walked over to his boyfriend. “What’s new, Yagyuu?”

“What is going on, Niou-kun?” Yagyuu asked.

Niou cocked his head to the side and blinked a few times. “What do you mean?” he asked in reply.

“I would say that I know you better than anyone, Niou-kun, and that means that I know when you are planning something,” Yagyuu said. “And right now I know that you are plotting and want to know why you refuse to tell me about it.”

“You’re imagining things, Yeahgyuu,” Niou smirked. “I’m not plotting anything at all. I’m just doing what Yukimura told us to do.”

“Niou-kun.”

“Geez, Yagyuu, I’m serious,” Niou said. He took a drink from the water bottle and turned his eyes on his boyfriend. “I thought that you’d said you would always believe me no matter what.”

“I find that hard to do when I know you’re hiding something from me,” Yagyuu said.

“I’m not hiding anything,” Niou said. “I think you’re jealous, Yagyuu, and that’s making you imagine things.”

Yagyuu sighed and pushed his glasses up. “And why would I be jealous?” Yagyuu asked softly.

“Because I’m not spending time with you,” Niou replied. “I don’t need you as much as I’ve needed you in the past and you don’t like the fact that I’ve been growing out and making new friends. You should be happy for me, Yagyuu.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t.” Niou grabbed his towel and walked off towards the group. Masa had asked him to help teach Akaya that day and he wanted to double check exactly what they were going to be working on. He came up short when a hand grabbed his arm.

“Niou.”

“Let me go, Yagyuu,” Niou said softly.

“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

The Petenshi dropped his head for a moment and turned towards Yagyuu. When he looked up, his eyes were blazing with a fire that Yagyuu had never seen before. “Let me go, now,” he whispered.

Yagyuu took a step back in shock, his hand falling away without him thinking about the action. He watched his partner walk across the gym and worked hard to stop his body from shaking. He jumped when a soft voice spoke from behind him.

“Yagyuu.”

“Yukimura-kun.”

The buchou smiled. “You can’t control a Petenshi,” he said. “I wouldn’t even try because Niou wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you. Haven’t you realized that he would hurt any of us if we tried to hold him back or hurt him in some way?”

“No, I hadn’t.”

“Then he’s a better actor than you are detective,” Yukimura smiled. “Anyone who thinks Sanada or Akaya are the most dangerous members of our team aren’t looking in the right direction.”

“Niou isn’t dangerous.”

“Isn’t he?” Yukimura’s blue eyes twinkled a little and he looked back across the gym to where Niou and Masa were talking quietly. “I think you should take a step back and study him for a moment, Yagyuu. You see only what you want to with him.”

“Yukimura-kun, I know everything about Niou. I have to because I am him half the time,” Yagyuu said. “There is nothing that he has hidden from me.”

“How can you say that with a straight face?” Yukimura covered his mouth with his hand and fought back the snickers. It wasn’t right for the feared buchou of Rikkai to giggle like a girl. “Niou is like an onion and he’s only shown us the top two layers to his personality and heart. And if you keep pushing like you are, he’s going to run away and we might not see him again for a long time.”

“That’s stupid, Yukimura-kun, if you’ll forgive me for saying so.”

“Only because you’re stressed,” Yukimura said. “But you will be running laps the next time you dare to say something like that, Yagyuu. Go stretch and get ready for class.”

Yagyuu bowed stiffly and left. Yukimura snickered softly for a couple of minutes and then finally got himself back under control. “Renji.”

“Are you all right, Seiichi?”

“Can you do me a favor, Renji?”

“Of course.”

“Would you follow Niou after classes today and find out exactly what he is doing. This close to Nationals we can’t afford to have any problems on the team and it seems that Yagyuu is going to do his best to break apart our doubles one team.”

Yanagi nodded. “Of course, Seiichi,” he said. “Are you still thinking that we need to split them up for Nationals?”

“It depends on who we play,” Yukimura replied. He looked across the gym. “Renji, can you see what Masa-san has in his hand?”

“It would seem to be a red rubber shoe,” Yanagi replied. “I wonder why he would have something like that with him.”  
********************************

Sanada felt the blood drain out of his face when he caught sight of the slipper in Masa’s hand. He couldn’t believe that there was one here. His eyes slid over to Yuuta and thought he saw a slight smirk on the older man’s face, but wasn’t sure and didn’t want to accuse someone of plotting without firm proof. Sanada moved slowly towards the wall and kept stretching, trying to keep as far away from Masa and the shoe as possible.

Masa was watching Sanada from the corner of his eye the whole time he was talking things over with Niou. He’d had a chance to talk with Ueshima-sensei the night before and found out what happened the day before. Yuuta had been a little more reserved with details of the day, but Masa had a fairly firm vision of what he needed to do to inspire Sanada to work harder. “All right, do you understand?” he asked.

Niou nodded. “Yeah, it’s simple enough and I think Akaya will enjoy some time in the pool,” he said. “Although I don’t know about taking Marui with us.”

“Give it a try and see what happens,” Masa said. “Thanks for helping with this, Niou.”

“Sure,” Niou grinned. “Oi, Akaya, Marui, let’s get a move on.”

Yuuta and Hide watched the trio leave. “What evil thing do you have them doing today?” Hide asked.

“Water dancing,” Masa replied with a smile. “Niou-kun is a remarkable dancer and I think he’ll learn more teaching at this point.”

“You’re evil,” Yuuta said. “You’ve seen the looks Yagyuu-kun is giving you.”

“Yagyuu-kun is imagining things,” Masa said.

“Is he?” Yuuta turned and pinned Masa with a firm look. “You have been spending a lot of time with Niou.”

Masa glared back at one of his best friends. “Yuuta, now you’re imaging things. I’m trying to convince Niou to enter a dance contest down in Tokyo, not unlike we did when we were younger. Don’t you think he has the talent to win?”

“Of course he does, that’s obvious,” Yuuta said. “But I thought we were here to help them get ready for a tennis tournament.”

“We are. The contest is after the tournament,” Masa said. “And the extra practice will hep him.”

Yuuta sighed. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Masa,” he said. “And really hope you don’t screw this up.”


	7. Chapter 7

Masa spent the day trying to ignore the looks that both Yagyuu and Yuuta were shooting his way. He understood why Niou wanted to keep his dancing a secret, not to mention the rest of his plan, but it wasn’t easy. He divided the kids between Hide and Yuuta and just watched them as they worked, slipper in hand - as that seemed to inspire Sanada to actually work on dancing. Masa had to appreciate the influence that Ueshima-sensei had over dancers, especially those that didn’t want to work or dance, and it seemed that Sanada had learned something from his day trip down into Tokyo. If only to fear the slipper, it was still something.

Niou and his group came back from the pool for lunch. Akaya promptly went to Yukimura to talk about what he had been doing for the morning and Marui went right to the food. Niou shook his head and joined Masa to report on what had happened. “That was fun, Masa-san, but I think if we do it again, we need to have one of the adults with us. Marui and Akaya are not easy to control, especially in the water.”

“But you managed to get everything done?” Masa asked.

“Yeah, we did, but it was a close thing,” Niou replied. “I don’t think I’m cut out to be a teacher after all.”

Masa laughed. “As long as you managed it, that’s what’s important. Now I wonder if you could do me another favor?”

“Sure.”

“Would you please tell Yagyuu that I’m not trying to seduce you away from him?”

The look on Niou’s face was comical. Masa could tell that the younger boy had never even considered something like that and was totally at a loss. “Is this the first boyfriend for both of you?” Masa asked.

“Yeah.”

“It seems like there’s always some uncertainty involved in the first relationship,” Masa said. “But given how Yagyuu has been glaring daggers at me all day, he’s really jealous of the time we’re spending together and I think he’s worried he’s going to lose you to me.”

Niou just stared at Masa for a long moment. “Aren’t you insulted?” he finally asked.

“Insulted?”

“Yeah, that one of your students thinks you’re the type of guy who would date a junior high school boy,” Masa said.

Masa laughed. “You don’t act your age, Niou,” he said. “There are times I have trouble remembering that you are fifteen. But it’s not insulting, it’s a bit of a compliment, actually.”

“If you say so,” Niou said. “I’m not real happy that he doesn’t trust me enough to know that I’m not going to cheat on him. I don’t follow him to the golf course every weekend, no matter how badly I want to spend time with him.”

“Well, I’m not a relationship counselor, but I’d say you have two options; break up with him or talk with him,” Masa said. “But I have a feeling that your buchou wouldn’t be too happy to have problems between the two of you this close to one of your tournaments.”

“You’re right enough about that,” Niou said. “And a mad Yukimura is something that I really don’t want to have to deal with right now. I’ll talk with Yagyuu.”

“Thanks,” Masa smiled. “Are we still on for after practice?”

“Of course,” Niou said with a small smile. “There’s still a lot I have to learn.”

Masa nodded. “Remind me to take you down into Tokyo this weekend and introduce you to a couple of people,” he said. “It’ll be good for you.”

“Like you’re going to forget,” Niou said.

“Probably not, but who knows what’ll happen and two people thinking about it is better than me forgetting,” Masa said. “Go ahead and eat, and don’t rush. I’m going to work you extra hard this afternoon.”

Niou grinned and bowed slightly before going to the bags piled in the corner and digging out his lunch. He took it over to where Yagyuu was sitting with Sanada and flopped down next to his boyfriend. “How’d the morning go in here?” he asked.

“It was fine,” Yagyuu replied. “Sanada-kun has been telling me about his trip down into Tokyo yesterday.”

“Yeah? Did you have fun, Sanada?” Niou asked.

“It was unusual,” Sanada replied. “And not something I’m keen to repeat.”

Niou bit back the laugh that was trying to escape. He had noticed that Sanada had his jacket folded up and was sitting on it like a pillow. Either he’d gotten lucky the day before, which seemed really unlikely given his personality, or something else had happened to make his ass hurt; and Niou really wanted to know what that something was. “You have to agree that this is better than being in class though.”

“Tarundoru,” Sanada muttered.

“Well, for me it is,” Niou continued with a smirk. “Oi, Yagyuu, I need to talk to you for a minute.”

“Can it wait?”

“Nope.”

“Very well, excuse us please, Sanada-kun,” Yagyuu said. He pushed to his feet and walked to a far corner of the gym, not looking to see if Niou was following him or not. “What do you want, Niou-kun?”

“Lay off Masa-san,” Niou said softly.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, and that’s why you’re glaring at him constantly,” Niou said. “Yagyuu, whether you trust me or not is another issue, but Masa-san isn’t trying to do anything other than help me get ready for nationals.”

Yagyuu turned and looked at Niou closely. “Then why are you spending so much time with him?” he asked. “What are you plotting?”

“There you go back to the plots again,” Niou said. “I told you this morning, I’m not plotting anything, Yagyuu. I’m doing what Yukimura told us to do and that’s take dance lessons to improve for nationals. If it takes extra time at night and early in the morning to learn everything I can, then that’s what I’m going to do to be the best player I can be when I walk out onto that court for nationals. And I’m hurt that you don’t trust me around another male without thinking that I’m going to sleep with him.”

“Aren’t you?”

Niou’s eyes went wide and he took a step back as if Yagyuu had slapped him. “I can’t believe you just asked me that,” he said.

“I think it’s a perfectly reasonable question,” Yagyuu said. “Especially with how much time you’ve been spending with Masa-san.”

“Nice to know what you think of me, Yagyuu,” Niou said. He turned and walked back across the gym to where Yukimura was sitting and slumped down next to his buchou. “So, any chance of me playing singles at nationals?”

Yukimura looked over, shocked. “What brought that question on, Niou?” he asked.

“Yagyuu just accused me of cheating on him,” Niou said softly. “And I really don’t feel like being around him right now.”

“That idiot,” Yukimura sighed. “I’m sorry, Niou, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on these dance lessons for the regulars none of this would have happened.”

“Nah, it’s probably good to find out about this now rather than down the line when I had too many years invested in the relationship,” Niou said. “It’ll let me focus on my tennis and getting more powerful. That can’t be all bad, can it?”

“Of course not, but I also warned Yagyuu that you weren’t hiding anything from him and to talk with you rationally about things,” Yukimura said. “I’ll speak with him again, Niou. But, to answer you original question, yes, there is a chance for you to play singles in nationals. It depends on who we face, but I was debating putting you and Yagyuu in singles before I even thought of the dance lessons. You’re powerful together, but more powerful apart for some things.”

“Whatever you want, buchou,” Niou said.

“Then get strong, Niou. That’s the best thing you can do for the team right now. Get as strong as you can and then get stronger. We will win nationals.”

“Of course we will,” Niou agreed. “We’re the most powerful team in Japan and it’s time for others to realize that. I think I lost my appetite. I’ll go stretch and work on some steps that Masa-san taught me this morning.”  
****************************

Yuuta watched the kids and sighed. “Something tells me that there’s going to be trouble here soon, Hide-chan.”

“Yagyuu-kun is getting jealous, is he?” Hide asked.

“Yeah, and it seems like not even Niou-kun was able to talk with him about what’s happening,” Yuuta replied. “And that means that the after hours lessons will continue and Yagyuu will continue to think that Masa is trying to steal his boyfriend away from him.”

“Like Masa-san would ever do something like that,” Hide said. “The man is too busy with his work to date right now. Not to mention how young these boys are.”

“That’s the main point, the age,” Yuuta said. “I know Masa would never touch someone this young. It’s just not in his nature. The problem will be convincing Yagyuu of that.”

Hide looked over at his boyfriend. “Do you think we could convince Yagyuu-kun that Masa is only interested in Niou-kun’s talent?” he asked. “It seems to me that things have gotten completely out of hand and we just have to let them play out however they will for now and help clean up at the end of things.”

Yuuta sighed and looked down at his hands. “I just hate not being able to do anything,” he said. “I totally understand what Masa is doing and why he’s doing it, but at the same time, they shouldn’t be trying to hide it from the others. That’s where all the problems have come from.”

“But with how focused on tennis all these boys are, do you really blame them?” Hide asked. “I can see some major problems popping up when they do find out.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Yuuta conceded. “So I guess we just keep an eye on things and wait for the right moment to step in and put out the flames, huh?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Hide agreed.  
***************************

Yukimura was not a happy buchou. “Yagyuu, come walk with me for a moment, please,” he said as he headed towards the door. “We need to talk.”

Yagyuu sighed and followed Yukimura out the door and out into one of the small gardens that Rikkai had dotted around it’s campus. “What’s wrong, Yukimura-kun?” he asked.

“I’m wondering why you’re acting the way you are, Yagyuu,” Yukimura replied. “Have you forgotten that for someone to trust you, you have to be willing to trust them?”

“Of course not,” Yagyuu said. “But I don’t believe I’m in the wrong here. Niou-kun is spending all his free time with Masa-san. What else am I supposed to think?”

“How, exactly, did you come to the conclusion that Niou is cheating on you with another man?” Yukimura asked. “And a man more than ten years his senior at that.”

“I know the signs, Yukimura-kun,” Yagyuu said. “And Niou-kun is showing all of them right now. He’s done with me and wants to be with Masa-san.”

“So you’re driving him away to put him into the wrong based on some imaginary signs you think you’re seeing?” Yukimura asked. “Did it never occur to you that Niou might just be working hard to learn every single thing he can to bring back to the tennis courts and be a stronger player? That he’s being exactly what a Rikkai player should be?”

“I have no doubt they’re dancing, Yukimura-kun, but that’s not all they’re doing,” Yagyuu said.

“You’re extremely insecure, aren’t you,” Yukimura sighed. “Yagyuu, Niou is only taking dance lessons. He isn’t plotting anything and, until you talked with him today, he loved you. It’s possible he still does, but he came directly to me and asked to play singles at nationals. That alone should tell you how hurt he is by what you said to him.”

“He’s weak at singles, Yukimura-kun.”

“That is my choice,” Yukimura said. “Do not forget who your buchou is, Yagyuu.”

“Of course not, Yukimura-kun.”

“Good. Now go run laps for an hour and think about what a jerk you’re being towards your boyfriend,” Yukimura said. “Because I promise you that there is nothing between Masa-san and Niou beyond the normal teacher/student relationship. This is all in your imagination and the only one you’re fooling is yourself. But the one you’re hurting is Niou and I will not tolerate fights on the team this close to nationals.”

“Yukimura-kun,” Yagyuu said. “You seem to forget what everyone knows, and that is pranks and tricks come as naturally to Niou-kun as breathing. He will play everyone around him and always come out on top because he knows where the traps are. He never allows anyone to know everything.”

Yukimura stared at Yagyuu. “That is the exact opposite of what you told me this morning, Yagyuu,” he said. “I think that maybe it might be better for me to take you to the doctor to make sure you’re healthy.”

“I’m fine, Yukimura-kun,” Yagyuu said. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

The buchou watched Yagyuu jog off and sighed. “Renji?”

“I’ve never seen Yagyuu act in such a way before, Seiichi,” Yanagi said from where he had been hidden in the bushes. “I think that rather than watching Niou, my time would be better spent shadowing Yagyuu for the next few days.”

“Please,” Yukimura said. “I’ll watch Niou while we’re at lessons and see if there is any grounds to Yagyuu’s accusations. Even though I think that’s a waste of time.”

“As do I,” Yanagi said. “If Niou were cheating on Yagyuu, and there is a 0.001% chance that he is, he would not be stupid enough to show it around the team.”

Yukimura nodded. “So I think our focus should be on figuring out where these problems for Yagyuu are springing from before they break apart the team more than they already are.”

“Agreed,” Yanagi said.


	8. Chapter 8

For the afternoon, Masa showed Niou steps and then left the boy to practice on his own while he walked around and helped Yuuta and Hide with the others. He could still feel Yagyuu’s eyes on him and wondered exactly what had happened during lunch. Masa did find it a little odd that Yagyuu’s eyes weren’t watching Niou and let part of his mind drift over the problem while he was teaching. He wondered, not for the first time, if it would be possible to convince Niou to tell his team what he was doing beyond preparing for the tennis matches they had coming up. Maybe they could advance their plans a little and use that weekend to prove a point. He would have to talk about it with Niou after everyone else had left for the day and see what they younger man thought about it.

“All right, everyone, that’s enough for the day,” Masa finally called. He knew it was a little early, but didn’t think anyone would mind too much. Maybe Yukimura could take them to the courts and have them play tennis for a while or something. “Please bring your swimming suits tomorrow, we’ll be spending the morning in the pool.”

Everyone seemed to watch Yagyuu, almost as if they were waiting for him to wait and ask Niou to go home with him, but the Gentleman packed up his bags and left as soon as Yukimura gave the okay. No one but Niou seemed to notice that Yanagi left immediately after Yagyuu. It was almost scary how easily the data master could move when he really wanted to. There were times that Niou wondered if the other boy was human.  
******************************

Yanagi wasn’t sure why their Gentleman was acting as he was. There was nothing in the data to support such a reaction to Niou taking lessons in anything away from school and, honestly, it was illogical at best. Niou was the one who brought Yagyuu to the tennis team and Yanagi had quickly seen the new player’s talent and burning drive to best Niou at the game that Niou considered his own. There was a question on which one of them was the better player, and it was possible that Yagyuu saw the new dance talent as a threat on the tennis court, to his place on the team, but it was a less than ten percent chance. Yanagi wasn’t going to dismiss it on those grounds, but he pushed the idea towards the back of his mind. He was convinced there had to be a better reason for it, one that would make sense once he found it, and following Yagyuu seemed to be the only way he would be able to find that answer.

Yagyuu walked home briskly, but not so fast that Yanagi found it hard to follow him. He wasn’t worried about anyone spotting him, if he didn’t want to be seen, he wouldn’t be, even if someone was looking right at him. It was a trick he had learned back in grade school and perfected almost to the point of, had he believed in magic, he would have called it that. Yanagi allowed himself a small smile. It was one reason his data was always so much better than Inui’s. No one could see him hanging around the courts to gather it in the first place. But Yanagi also didn’t believe in taking chances, so he took up a position not far from Yagyuu’s home where he would be able to see, but not be seen from the house, and waiting. Something told him his teammate wouldn’t be in the house long.

And he was right. Yagyuu came out not fifteen minutes after he’d gone in, freshly showered and dressed in a polo and pair of slacks that were pressed to within an inch of their lives. Yanagi thought it might be possible to slice a piece of grass with the creases and would have rolled his eyes - had they been open - at the Gentleman. He waited for Yagyuu to pass him and then stepped out to follow again. It quickly became obvious that Yagyuu had a destination in mind. His steps were firm and slightly fast, almost as if he was hurrying for some reason and Yanagi’s mind started forming options before he was fully conscious of the process happening. He knew it wouldn’t be a job interview, Yukimura would kill any of them if they even thought about something that would take time away from their tennis practice time, but it was possible that Yagyuu was going to look into something for the summer that wouldn’t interfere with anything else he had going on. The likelihood of that was about twenty percent, Yanagi figured without much effort.

The number dropped to under ten when Yagyuu walked into a museum. Yanagi sighed and followed, puzzled. He knew that Yagyuu enjoyed music and museums, but wasn’t sure why he would be visiting one in the middle of the week when there was no special exhibit or program. The posters outside showed that the current works had been on display for three months, with new exhibits coming in the next month or so. Yanagi visited museums with Yukimura on occasion and enjoyed them, but didn’t go out of his way to go on his own.  
Yanagi recognized the young man waiting just inside the door before he was close enough to see a face. He watched for another moment and realized that his day just got a lot more difficult.  
************************

Yukimura was working out in his garden when Yanagi came dragging in after dinner. “Renji, are you all right?” he asked. He pulled off his gloves quickly and stood to help his friend to one of the chairs they had close to the house. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine, physically, thank you, Seiichi,” Yanagi replied. “But I have seen some very disturbing things this afternoon which, had I not seen them, I do not believe I would have believed should anyone have told me of them in the first place.”

Yukimura sat down next to his best friend. “Would you try that again, please?” he asked. “You just lost me.”

“I found the true reason Yagyuu is acting as he is towards Niou,” Yanagi sighed. He opened his eyes and looked over at his buchou. “He is directing his own feelings and actions unfairly onto Niou.”

“Renji, are you telling me that Yagyuu Hiroshi, the Gentleman of Rikkai and most likely the whole of Japan, is cheating on his boyfriend?” Yukimura asked.

“Quite thoroughly,” Yanagi replied.

“You didn’t.”

“Yagyuu’s bedroom has a very handy tree just outside the window opposite his bed that is extremely helpful for gathering data,” Yanagi said.  
“It is not the first time I have made use of it, though I do try and limit my voyeurism as much as possible.”

The blue-haired buchou looked up at his own window and made a mental note to sleep with his curtains closed from then on. And maybe triple weight from what he had on there now. “And you know who he is cheating with, Renji?”

“I do.”

“Please tell me it is not Atobe,” Yukimura said. “I only just got rid of him again. That boy shows up far too often for comfort.”

Yanagi smiled slightly. “Yagyuu has slightly more taste than that. Actually, his choice in partners surprised me when compared to Niou, but at the same time when taking Yagyuu’s personality into account, it makes sense. I just think that we need to speak with Yagyuu, Niou and  
Oshitari and find out exactly who knows what at this point.”

“Oshitari Yuushi,” Yukimura asked. “It had to be Hyotei, didn’t it?”

“At least it’s not Atobe, Seiichi,” Yanagi replied. “Contemplate what a mess that would be. That diva with unfettered access to our locker room and courts.”

“Over my dead body,” Yukimura said. He paused for a moment when his phone rang. “Yes, Niou?”

“Hey, is it possible for you to get the team to Tokyo tomorrow night, buchou?” Niou asked. “I’ve got a surprise for you all and it really would mean a lot if you could come.”

“Of course, Niou,” Yukimura said. “Would it be possible for you to give me the information tomorrow at practice?”

“Sure,” Niou said. “And you can tell me what it is that has you sounding so upset.”

Yukimura reflected, not for the first time, that Niou had extremely scary intuition when he wanted to. “You focus on your tennis and your dancing, Niou,” Yukimura said. “Let us deal with everything else. I want you to be able to walk onto that court at Nationals and wipe the floor with everyone you face.”

“Of course,” Niou grinned. “They won’t ever see tennis courts that shiny again. Just, Yukimura, don’t lie to me. please?”

“I promise, Niou,” Yukimura said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Yanagi waited until the phone was turned off and back on the table before he spoke again. “What do we do now, Seiichi?” he asked.

“I believe that speaking with Oshitari should be our first step,” Yukimura replied. “I’m curious to know if he knows that Yagyuu was already seeing someone when they started dating. If you could just give me a moment to change, we’ll go together.”

“Do you know where he lives, Seiichi?”

“I know that you do, Renji.”

“Of course.” Yanagi opened his eyes again. “I know where everyone lives, Seiichi. And where most of them have their bodies buried as well.”

Yukimura nodded and stood. “That’s always good to know, Renji. I’ll be right back.”


	9. Chapter 9

The conversation with Oshitari never happened as he wasn’t home when Yukimura and Yanagi stopped by. Yukimura was too mad to even think about going to talk to Yagyuu that night, so the friends agreed to wait until the morning and see what they could do. Yukimura wasn’t really happy at the thought of having to talk to Niou, to let him know what they had figured out about the sudden shift in Yagyuu’s attitude. 

 

It ended up not mattering.

When the Rikkai team arrived for dance practice the next day, they found Niou missing, and no one seemed to know where he was. Masa had a message for Yukimura that gave an address in Tokyo along with tickets for an event, one for each team member, but nothing else. Yukimura sighed and tried to figure out how he would manage to drag Sanada back down into Tokyo for another concert. He knew that Sanada would go if ordered, but he really wanted to think that his friend might enjoy the trip and wasn’t just doing it because he had been ordered to.

Not that the day wasn’t interesting or entertaining. Masa took them all to the school swimming pool and had the team dance in water. He left them there with Yuuta and Hide, because he had to be in Tokyo for a meeting. Yukimura was able to swim lazy and slow laps as part of his physical therapy and only had to stop twice to keep from sinking completely to the bottom while laughing. Akaya and Marui were not a good pair to put in the pool together and seemed to have a great deal of fun with the day’s assignment. 

“What do you want to do about Yagyuu, Seiichi?” Yanagi asked from where they were sitting together on the side of the pool watching Sanada chase Akaya around in the water trying to get his hat back. No one was sure why Sanada’s hat was in the pool to begin with, but had a feeling that Marui or Akaya was to blame, as Niou wasn’t anywhere around.

“I don’t know, Renji,” Yukimura replied. “I really would like to speak with Oshitari first and find out some things from him, but we won’t be able to do that until tomorrow. I’m not sure what this event down in Tokyo is, but Niou doesn’t often ask things of us and I’m curious.”

Yanagi smiled. “I suspected as much,” he said. “One of these days, your curiosity will get the better of you, Seiichi.”

“I’m always careful,” Yukimura said. “Genichiro, you need to come here a second.”

“But Yukimura, my hat.”

“I know, Sanada, but trust me, please.”

Sanada swam over and looked up at Yukimura. “What did you need, Yukimura?”

“Chase Akaya this way, please, Genichiro,” Yukimura said. “I believe this will take more finesse than you’re using. And I think Akaya is a little too caught up in his fun to realize that we’ve offered to help you.”

“Thank you both,” Sanada said. He swam back out and lunged for Akaya, who only just managed to slip away. It took some work, but Sanada eventually managed to get Akaya heading in the right direction and, when the baby demon was close enough, he suddenly found Yanagi on his back.

“Sempai!” he yelled, just before he went under the water.

Yukimura offered the reclaimed hat back to Sanada. “There, Genichiro,” he said. “Put that somewhere safe and get back to work. I cannot imagine what you hope to accomplish just splashing around in here all day.”

Sanada was too happy to have his hat back to even think of snapping back a reply. Yukimura looked down at Akaya. “That wasn’t very nice, Akaya,” he said.

“Sorry, buchou,” Akaya said. “I miss Niou-sempai.”

“We all do, Akaya, but that’s no excuse for you to start acting like him. Swim twenty laps, please,” Yukimura said.

Akaya left without another word. He didn’t want to risk making his buchou mad when it was obvious that Yukimura wasn’t focused on what was happening around him at all. Yukimura never said please when assigning laps. Yanagi sighed and hopped back up next to his friend on the edge of the pool. “Seiichi, you shouldn’t scare him like that.”

“Hmmmm?

“You said please when you ordered him to swim laps.”

“Oh. I’m not focused at all today, am I, Renji?”

“You’re really not, and I believe everyone has noticed,” Yanagi said. “It is possible that it would be better to allow Genichiro to take the team to the courts for the afternoon while you and I see if we can track down Oshitari.”

Yukimura shook his head. “I need one of us here to make sure everyone comes down into Tokyo tonight. I want Niou to know he has team support.”

“Even if you’re not completely sure he wants to see Yagyuu?”

“There’s a ticket here for him, so I would imagine that Niou wants him there for a reason,” Yukimura said. “Although, with it being Niou and him being as upset as he is, I don’t know how good a reason it’s going to be.” He stood up. “I’m going to shower. Keep an eye on everyone for me?”

“Of course.”

Yukimura gathered his things and moved quickly to keep from getting a chill. He wasn’t worried about it, but he knew his doctor would freak out if he thought Yukimura was doing anything that might lead to an illness of any kind. Yukimura was getting sick of being treated like he might break, but he had promised Sanada he wouldn’t do anything to the doctors using his powers, which meant he was stuck with just the mental images of his doctor flailing down the hall of the hospital, blind and deaf, on those times when he was frustrated.

Once he was done and dressed, he went out to one of the bench sets near the gym and took out his cell phone to make the last phone call he really wanted to make. 

“Ahn, Yukimura?” Atobe said, answering on the fourth ring. “What can Ore-sama do for you today?”

“Hello, Atobe, I need a small favor,” Yukimura said. “One that I believe can be repaid through a tennis match with Sanada.”

“How interesting, you have Ore-sama’s attention,” Atobe said. 

“I need a phone number for Oshitari Yuushi, please,” Yukimura said. “I’ve got a question for him that I’m afraid only he can answer, and haven’t been able to find anyone who has the number.”

Atobe was quiet for a moment. “I’m afraid that Ore-sama cannot give out the numbers for his players, Yukimura,” he said. “However, I could ask Oshitari if he would be willing to give you a call, seeing as I have your number.”

“That would be fine,” Yukimura said. “Thank you for your help, Atobe. Give me a call when you would like to play against Sanada and I’ll see if we can make it work with our training schedule.”

“I believe I would rather bank this favor until you recover, Yukimura, and play against you,” Atobe said. “It seems rather a more fair payment.”

“If you wish,” Yukimura said. “Thank you again. I’ll be waiting for some kind of call, even if it’s you telling me that Oshitari doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“He’ll call, Yukimura; Ore-sama guarantees it,” Atobe said. “And Ore-sama never goes back on his word.”

Yukimura looked at his phone and shook his head. Atobe might never go back on his word, but it could be trying to talk with him most of the time. The diva had a good heart, he cared about his people, but he was annoying with his attitude. Although Yukimura had a feeling that was mostly the point. He set his phone next to him and settled in to enjoy the sun, trying to think about exactly what he would be asking Oshitari when the other boy called. It wasn’t going to be an easy or comfortable conversation.  
***********

Yukimura expected Sanada to bolt when he saw the posters for Masa’s concert, but the taller boy just sighed, adjusted his hat and went forward with the group. Yanagi’s eyebrow went up, and Yukimura knew that was more or less a surprised shout from his friend. It was turning out to be an extremely unusual day.

Their tickets got them down close to the stage again. Yukimura had timed their arrival to within fifteen minutes of the start of the show, so there wouldn’t be much need for talk amongst the team. He still wasn’t sure what he wanted to say to Yagyuu, if anything, but he also couldn’t help but wonder if Oshitari had called Yagyuu to let him know that Yukimura had been in touch with Atobe. It was almost a relief when the lights dimmed and the shadows of the band and dancers came out on stage and the slow intro music started. 

Both Yukimura and Yanagi gasped, not that it could be heard over the music, when the lights hit the dancers. Yuuta and Hide were there, along with a very familiar platinum-haired petenshi. Niou was in leather pants, a silver see-through shirt with a black tank top underneath, and had glitter in his spiky hair. Yukimura watched in shock as Niou danced, making it look easy to move in tight leather and realized what all the extra time spent with Masa was all about. Niou’s talent was wasted on the tennis court. He had a future as a dancer and performer. Masa had realized that and was doing everything he could to give Niou a chance to step out and into a larger world than he would be in at Rikkai.

He glanced over at Yagyuu, to see how the former gentleman (Yukimura couldn’t think of him as a gentleman after everything he had learned over the past couple of days) was taking the display. Yagyuu’s face was as stoic as ever, but a glance down showed that he wasn’t unaffected by the moves Niou was employing up on stage. Yukimura made a mental note to tell Niou to stay away from Yagyuu and turned back to enjoy the concert. The more he watched, the more Yukimura could see what Masa had seen immediately. Niou had talent and it would be a pity to not to work with him as much as possible and get him out dancing more. Yukimura didn’t want to lose one of his most powerful players, and had a feeling he wouldn’t for another year or so, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to try and tie Niou down. He vowed then and there to support Niou in both dancing and tennis, and to not stop him from doing either. There would be a way to make it work out.

As the fans were leaving, Niou came to the edge of the stage, almost glowing he was so happy. “Puri, Yukimura,” he grinned.

“Niou Masaharu, you are the biggest sneak I know,” Yukimura replied. “That was wonderful. Please give my congratulations to Masa-san as well. How many more shows are you going to be doing?”

“Three,” Niou said. “But I won’t let it get in the way of Nationals, Yukimura. I promise. Hey, Yeahgyuu, looks like you enjoyed the show. Too bad I have another performance to do tonight.”

Yukimura looked at Niou. “There’s something we need to talk about, Niou,” he said. “If you have a minute. Everyone, could you meet me outside, please?”

Niou sat down and took a long drink of water out of the bottle he had been carrying. “Did you enjoy the show, Yukimura?”

“I did, Niou. You belong up there. If you cannot find a way to balance dance and tennis, I’ll do it for you,” Yukimura said firmly. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s Yagyuu.”

“What’s going on?”

“There’s no easy way to say this, Niou, so please forgive me if this sounds harsh, but Yagyuu is seeing someone else,” Yukimura said. “According to Renji, it’s more than just going out to dinner.”

Niou looked down at his hands for a minute. “You’re not going to tell me a name, are you?” he asked softly.

“I know you wouldn’t hurt anyone, Niou, but I think it’s best to let me handle this for a while,” Yukimura replied. “As I said to you yesterday and the day before, I want you to focus on getting as strong as you can for Nationals. I believe that the two of us will be the ones to carry the team to victory as we will be the unknowns.”

“I guess I knew it was over, but it still hurts in a way,” Niou said. “Can I at least prank Yagyuu a couple of times, buchou?”

“I would expect nothing less,” Yukimura said. “Niou, you were amazing up there tonight, but I would imagine Masa-san wants to work with you some more, doesn’t he? Please promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t, buchou,” Niou said. “Besides, Masa-san is too focused on his work, and Yuuta-san is watching him so closely that I’m not allowed to be in the same room alone with Masa-san. I don’t see what the big deal is. I’m a kid. There’s no way Masa-san would even be interested in me. I’m done with romance for a while.”

“Okay,” Yukimura said. “I just wanted to make sure. I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Do your best tonight.”

Niou grinned. “Of course. I wouldn’t do anything to let down Rikkai, Yukimura. We never lose.”

“That’s right, Niou,” Yukimura smiled. “We never do.”


	10. Chapter 10

Between the dance lessons and tennis practice, no one was surprised when Nationals rolled around. Yukimura was worried about letting his doubles one pair take the court in the early games, but had talked with Niou and had a promise that he wouldn't let anything hurt the pairing. Rikkai blew past all competition easily, winning in straight sets, and watching any team that seemed to be doing the same. None of them were surprised when Seigaku made it into the finals as well. The sight of the names paired up for a final match made Yukimura very, very happy.

The look on Inu's face when the line-up for Rikkai was announced made Yanagi happy. Marui and Jackal played doubles two against Momoshiro and Kaidoh and won 7-6, but it was far closer than anyone had thought it would be. Yagyuu played singles two and only just managed to defeat Inui. If not for playing for years against Yanagi's data tennis, Yagyuu probably would have lost. Doubles one went to Seigaku's golden pair, something that Yukimura was expecting because Sanada and Akaya weren't really doubles players, but he wanted to put Niou in the next game for singles one.

That the game was against Fuji only made Niou grin.

"Do you have any idea what he's planning, Yukimura?" Yanagi asked from where they were sitting. Yukimura was on the bench with Yanagi directly behind him in the stands.

"Not a clue," Yukimura replied. He'd been attending some of the dance lessons, wanting to see how Niou was evolving as a dancer and had learned about the competition the following week. Niou was nervous about anyone else on the team finding out, but Yukimura promised to keep it a secret. They'd talked on the train home, having been down into Tokyo to see Masa and a stage play, about what would happen if Niou managed to place or even win the competition. Niou loved tennis, but he wanted to see where dancing would take him. Yukimura made him promise that, if he couldn't manage both, that Niou would focus on dancing for a year and then see what he wanted to do more. Niou had to agree that it made sense for him to do that and then commented that it was possible he wouldn't even place. Yukimura doubted that, but hadn't wanted to say anything at the time.

"Hmmmm, I wonder if Niou knows that Fuji beat Shiraishi easily," Yanagi said, watching the play out of the court. "Although, considering Niou's normal play style, that is good basic tennis."

"New data, Renji?" Yukimura murmured.

"Of course," Yanagi replied. "Also, Tezuka isn't stronger than Fuji. It's a little known fact that Fuji is actually the strongest player on the Seigaku team, if one does not count Echizen, that is."

"The bratling is the strongest in all of Japan," Yukimura agreed. "At least, at the moment."

"Who is that?" Yanagi asked. "I don't recognize that person."

Yukimura looked out at the tennis court and grinned. "That's a dancer friend of Masa-san's," he said. "One that Niou met last week down in Tokyo. I think, Renji, you're about to see exactly how hard Niou has been working."

Everyone watched as Niou suddenly became a new person, not just in image, but in movement and ball control. Yanagi looked across at Inui and saw that his old friend was writing in his notebook, no doubt trying to work out the exact details of the new technique that Niou was using.

"Remarkable," Yanagi said, when Niou earned the final match point and went to shake hands with Fuji. "Seiichi, that was unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"So it was," Yukimura smiled. "Well done, Niou."

"Think I surprised everyone?" Niou asked with a smirk.

"More than you thought you would," Yukimura replied. "All your hard work paid off, Niou. More than I ever hoped it would. You know what you have to do now."

Niou rested his racket on his shoulder and nodded. "Bring the team?" he asked.

"Is that what you want?" Yukimura asked in reply.

"Yeah," Niou said softly. "Good luck against Echizen, bouchou."


	11. Chapter 11

As a coach, Masa was allowed into the backstage area with Niou during the competition. "I saw Yukimura-kun and the others in the audience, Niou," he said while Niou was warming up for the first round. "There was also a boy with blueish hair sitting with Yagyuu-kun."

"Oshitari, he's from another school," Niou said. "Yukimura finally told me about it a couple of days ago. I don't know how long Yagyuu was cheating, but I decided it didn't matter because I'm not looking back on anything. We won Nationals three years in a row, which was one of our main goals and now I'm going to focus on dancing and my future."

Masa smiled. "That's a very mature attitude, Niou," he said. "You always impress me with how adult you can be."

"My teachers wouldn't agree," Niou grinned. "Okay, I think I'm ready. Three rounds today, right?"

"Yeah, two with the dances you learned from me and one free-style," Masa said. "I'll be watching from the wings the whole time, Niou. I know you're going to do great out there."

"Thanks for all your help with this, Masa-san," Niou grinned. "I don't think I would have realized how much I like dancing without your help and support." He tied on his number and bowed. "Here goes nothing."

Masa watched the younger man go with a smile. He was about to follow when a hand landed on his shoulder. "Ueshima-sensei?"

"That the young man you've been telling me about?"

"Yeah," Masa said. "I didn't know if you'd be able to make it today. I'm glad to see you."

"You have a good eye for talent, Masa, and I want to see this young man you've been teaching," Ueshima-sensei said. "If there's as much talent there as you say, he might not have to place to find a place with one of the dance schools in Tokyo. I saw a lot of coaches in the audience today."

"I'd like to see him get good placement," Masa said as they headed to the coaches area. "Especially with his win at the National tennis matches. He used some of the dance moves I've been teaching him on the tennis court in a combination I've never seen before, but it was amazing to watch."

"Do you have video of it?"

"I do. Remind me and I'll send it to you," Masa said. "Is it normal to feel nervous the first time you have a student entered in the contests, Sensei?"

"Of course it is. I still feel nerves every time I watch one of my students at these events, but they help the young grow and find their way," Ueshima-sensei said with a smile. "You've done everything you can, now it's time to step back and let the young fly on their own."  
**

Yukimura was working not to send glares down the row at Oshitari. He didn't even know what the Hyotei player was doing there, and hoped that it wasn't a ploy of Yagyuu's to make Niou lose his focus during the competition. Before Yanagi's discovery that Yagyuu was cheating on Niou, Yukimura would have thought that it wasn't possible for the Gentleman of Rikkai to do anything sneaky or harmful to another, but he knew better now.

"Seiichi, if you keep your fists clenched like that, you'll hurt your hands," Yanagi said softly. "He is here and there is nothing we can do to change that."

"I want to hit Yagyuu for this, Renji," Yukimura admitted. "This is Niou's day and look what he's done."

Yanagi smiled. "Niou will dazzle everyone and they'll forget about Yagyuu again," he said. "There is a 98.5299% chance that Yagyuu is still smarting from Nationals when he struggled so hard to win his match, and Niou took his easily. Yagyuu has long believed he is the more powerful of the pair and now he has proof that it's not true. All we can do is support Niou in his new endeavors."

Yukimura smiled as the lights dimmed. "He will win," he said. "Rikkai always wins."


	12. Chapter 12

When Niou took the stage with the others in his group for the first category dance, he caught sight of his team sitting together close to the stage where they would be able to see clearly. If Yagyuu was hoping to hurt him or throw him off his game by bringing Oshitari along, then Niou was going to show his doubles partner exactly how strong he was. Niou focused on the music and danced to the full extent of his abilities. He knew the judges were watching everyone, but he also knew he stood out with his platinum hair and hoped that they liked what they were seeing.

The second group danced passed almost as quickly as the first. There was a break in the middle of the day for lunch and for the judges to talk about what they saw during the morning. Niou ate with Masa and Ueshima-sensei in a moderately quiet area backstage.

"Masa is right," Ueshima-sensei said, "you do have talent, Niou-kun. With the proper guidance and discipline, I wouldn't be surprised to find you auditioning for stage plays or musicals within two years."

"My buchou told me to take a year and focus on dancing," Niou said. "Which really surprised me, given how focused he is on tennis. I really would like to find a way to do both, but I don't think I can. Not with high school on top of everything else, there's just not enough time."

"You don't have to give up tennis fully," Masa pointed out. "Niou, you've managed to meld tennis and dancing together and, possibly, have created a completely new style of play. It would be a shame for you to lose that, and I know how much you love tennis. You might just have to be an alternate on your team rather than a regular."

Ueshima-sensei nodded. "Masa has a point. If tennis is important to you, then you should try to do both," he said. "Dance lessons will be scheduled, but if you win here, or even place, it's possible they might be willing to work with you, especially as you don't live in Tokyo."

"We'll see," Niou said. "If Yukimura finds out I'm slacking at dancing though, he might force me to quit tennis for the rest of the year. I'll give it a try, I'm not going to quit anything I love without a fight, but I want to improve and move forward with dancing. I realized what when Masa-san was kind enough to let me perform in the last series of his concert. I felt more alive on the stage than I ever have on the tennis courts."

"The choice is yours, of course," Ueshima-sensei said. "There are many boys here today who have talent, but none I would be willing to teach. Except you. What I see in you, Niou-kun, is heart. It is passion and that is lacking in so many of the others. That, more than anything else, will carry you forward."

Niou ducked his head and bowed as best he could from how he was sitting. "Thank you," he said.  
***

"We have the individual dance section coming up next," Yanagi said, once they were all back in their seats. "If I understand correctly, the morning half of the competition was to show how well the boys could dance in groups in a pre-set performance. The afternoon will be given over to a dance of their choice."

"This is what Niou has been working on the most," Yukimura said. "He asked me to keep it a secret for him, but he let me come with him a few times when he met with Masa-san. I haven't seen the finished dance, but the parts I did see are beautiful."

Sanada leaned around. "I have to say, Seiichi, that I don't think I've ever seen Niou look as happy as he did up there," he said. "While I don't support dancing for myself, I think that Niou has found his heart, his true heart, and that's shining through on the stage."

"You're right, Genichiro," Yanagi said. "Just as kendo is for you, dancing is for Niou. We should all be so lucky as to find something that makes us all so happy. You and Niou are the lucky ones."

They fell quiet as the lights dimmed and the first boy took the stage to open the afternoon portion of the competition. Yukimura had gained a lot of insight into dancing, having spent time with Masa and the others, and watched with the same critical eye that he used on his tennis players. The boys performing were good, they had a base talent and a number of them had the potential to burn brightly on the stage with the proper teaching, but all of them were missing a certain something that Yukimura couldn't put his finger on.

Until Niou came out onto the stage for his dance. He was dancing to one of Yuuta's songs, an up-tempo easy beat piece, and he made every move look effortless. That was what was missing from the earlier performers. Passion and desire to win. Yukimura smiled to himself. Rikkai never lost.

He was proven right that night when Niou took first place.


	13. Chapter 13

"Hey Yukimua," Niou said flopping down next to his buchou at lunch a few months later, "I've got my first audition this weekend."

"That's wonderful, Niou," Yukimura replied with a smile. Since Niou had won the dance competition, he'd been working with one of the top dance teachers in the nation, and occasionally with Ueshima-sensei and Masa as well. "What is it for?"

"A stage play with a brief run in Tokyo only," Niou replied. "They think I'm ready to start trying for auditions, even if I don't get the role."

Yukimura grinned. "Your progress in both tennis and dancing has been wonderful, Niou," he said. "Right, Yanagi?"

Yanagi sat down with the pair, followed by Sanada. "Indeed it has," he said. "Your new play style is still causing waves in the tennis world, Niou. I'm glad you were able to find time for both, even if you can't always play as a starter for the team."

"It's probably only going to be harder now," Niou said. "I'm a little nervous about trying out for stage plays during the school year, but Sensei says that the experience of going through the auditions is an important part of building a dancing career."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, and if you do get the role, you'll shine in it," Yukimura said with a smile. "Thanks for letting us know about this, Niou."

"I have to, because it'll mean less time for tennis if I get the role," Niou said. "I wanted you to know I'm not just skipping out on anything."

"You never would," Yanagi said. "You're passionate about both things, Niou, and you're trying so hard to keep everything in balance. It's impressive how hard you work to be able to do it."

Niou nodded. "I'm getting really good at studying on the train," he said. "I can't let my grades suffer any."

"Of course not, and you won't," Yukimura said. "This is what you were born to do, Niou, and I know you'll make it work."

"Thanks, Yukimura," Niou grinned.


End file.
